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Authors

Imre Kovách kovach.imre@tk.mta.hu

Boldizsar Megyesi megyesi.boldizsar@tk.mta.hu

Topic: Motivations of multi-layered subsistence farming in Hungary

Keywords: subsistence farming, motivations for subsistence farming, definitions of subsistence farming, layers of subsistence farming

Abstracts

This paper aims to explore the role of subsistence farming in Central Europe by reviewing the literature, analysing the primary data from a representative survey conducted in 2015 in Hungary and two case-studies. According to European and national-level policy analysis, subsistence farming is a cornerstone of European agriculture, and a central element of a rural image, as earlier and recent research shows.

The paper is based on earlier theories on food self-provisioning and argues that it is worth analysing the layers of subsistence farming in order to better understand the motivations of participation. The paper analyses five different layers of subsistence farming: the economic, the societal, the policy, the discursive, and the sustainability layers, and argues that although all five layers are important to understand the phenomena, the economic and policy layers are the most important in this type of activity, while the sustainability layer is almost invisible.

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